Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety, Post-Traumatic Disorder: they already have a solution  

"A study carried out in police officers and military personnel from different countries allows us to determine that the longer the service and the higher the rank, the greater the probability of suffering from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)".

According to the DSM-V (De Psiquiatría & Lifante, 2014), the prevalence of the disorder in adults in the United States is approximately 3.5%, while for countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America it is between 0 , 5% and 1.0%, likewise, it is indicated that the rates of post-traumatic stress are higher in people whose profession has a high risk of traumatic exposure and veterans, where the highest rates are found among rape survivors , military combat, captivity and internment and genocide. There are several studies that have focused on identifying the prevalence, symptoms and risk factors associated with the development of post-traumatic stress in people who, due to their work conditions, are exposed to situations of violence and war, such as case of the Armed and Military Forces. Studies show that approximately 20% of US troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan may require treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (Steenkamp & Litz, 2013). Likewise, and assuming a positive outlook under which no war will occur in the next decade, it is estimated that the prevalence of PTSD in veterans of the United States will be 10% in the year 2025, thus taking a period of approximately 40 years to mitigate the psychiatric consequences of the war (Ghaffarzadegan, Ebrahimvandi, & Jalali, 2016). The Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center (2012) has indicated that since the beginning of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2001, diagnoses related to abnormalities have increased by 65%. in mental health among active service members, increasing suicide rates in this population (Kaplan, Huguet, McFarland, & Newsom, 2007). Likewise, it has been possible to demonstrate that the symptoms and course of PTSD do not present differences between those who are war veterans and active duty personnel, showing that the trajectory of the disease is substantially determined by the period in which it is in service (Porter, Bonanno, Frasco, Dursa, & Boyko, 2017).

Source: UNIVERSIDAD DEL ROSARIO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCES MASTER'S DEGREE IN OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH.

"The renewed scientific interest has to do with the numerous reports that have appeared in recent years suggesting that some substances of natural origin could have antidepressant effects or act as anxiolytics, which would consequently lead to the development of more effective psychiatric medications.

This week, in the first study of its kind, Dutch scientists found that microdosing some of nature's fruits has no noticeable effect on problem solving, rational reasoning, or abstract reasoning. They even concluded that microdosing appears to enhance two ways of thinking that underlie creativity.

"Performance was significantly higher" on tests of convergent and divergent thinking, psychologist Bernhard Hommel of Leiden University in the Netherlands and lead author of the study told Stat News.

Convergent thinking is the ability to focus on abstract concepts to identify a unique solution to a well-defined problem. Divergent thinking requires meandering mental forays and mental flexibility. Both are ingredients of creativity.

Neurotransmitters are chemicals created by the body that transmit signals (information) from one neuron to the next through points of contact called synapses.

Specifically, serotonin is known as the "happiness hormone" because low levels are linked to feelings of depression and obsession. It also intervenes in digestion, regulating body temperature, etc.

The cerebral cortex is teeming with these receptors, "and a minimal dose of these natural fruits is required to activate them. It's an empirical question we're trying to address," said Bernhard Hommel of Leiden University, lead author of the study.

In the study, the scientists focused on the effects their test subjects reported: creativity, problem-solving ability. Luisa Prochazkova, one of the researchers, invited members of the Netherlands Medical Society to participate in the study, which has 38 members. All agreed to be the subjects of the investigation.

Before taking the dose of this ancient medicine (or rather, the microdose), the volunteers took three standard psychological tests: two related to creative problem solving and a test of abstract or fluid intelligence.

Then, the scientists carried out chemical analyzes on the samples of these natural fruits to determine and isolate certain substances that they contained. Participants averaged 0.37 grams of the dry preparation, which can be taken with food or packaged in gel capsules.

Ninety minutes after taking the microdose of these fruits, the participants took the tests again and, according to the scientists, their performance on the creativity tests improved by at least two points. "Taken together, the three findings suggest that microdosing doesn't have a noticeable effect on problem-solving ability, rational thinking, and abstract reasoning called fluid intelligence. But it does appear to improve two ways of thinking that underlie creativity." the researchers noted.

"This study is quantitative support for measuring the cognitive-enhancing properties of microdosing, but future research should confirm these preliminary findings.

The results seem to coincide with another recent study on the use of this type of natural fruit, which was also published in BioXRiv, in July of this year. In this case, scientists led by Oxford University computational neuroscientist Joana Cabral used MRIs to study the brain activity of nine people who volunteered to receive injections of 2 milligrams of this type of ancient medicine, one gram less than expected. which is considered the full dose and a higher dose than the Dutch study.

In the case of the study, the chemical changed the functional connectivity of various brain regions, so that brain regions associated with reason, logic, and good behavior became "destabilized," the scientists reported, merging with other activities. in more "emotional" brain regions. "There was an unrestricted awareness and a sense that everything is connected to everything else," they wrote. In other words, creativity increased, but motor skills or speech did not decrease.

It is not the first time that scientists are concerned with observing the effects of certain fruits of nature in antidepressant treatments, but it is the first time that they are concerned with observing the effects of microdosing these compounds on creativity.

"If the Dutch study agrees on something, it is that more studies are necessary, with more test subjects and better controlled to be able to contrast this hypothesis."

Source: newspaper El Espectador Colombia.

Sociodemographic factors are important determinants in the appearance of PTSD in personnel of the military and police forces and are necessary when characterizing the populations with a higher risk profile.